Miso Soup with Tofu and Seaweed

• 800ml dashi (water with kombu seaweed and katsuobushi) or instant dashi
• 3 tablespoons white or red miso paste
• 200g silken tofu
• 20g dried wakame seaweed
• Fresh scallions

👨‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Rehydrate the wakame in water for 5 minutes. Drain.

2. 2

   Gently heat the dashi over low heat. DO NOT boil.

3. 3

   Dissolve the miso in a small amount of cold dashi before adding.

4. 4

   Stir the dissolved miso into the warm dashi. Mix gently.

5. 5

   Add the cubed tofu and rehydrated wakame.

6. 6

   Serve immediately with scallions. Never boil after adding miso.

💡 Chef's tip

Miso should never boil: it loses its beneficial properties and develops a bitter taste. Always dissolve it in cold liquid before adding to hot broth.

📝 Our take

Japanese miso soup is the most repeated dish in Japan: it appears at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its power lies in the dashi—the broth of kombu seaweed and bonito—which has a natural umami impossible to replicate with stock cubes. With silken tofu and rehydrated wakame it is a calming bowl in ten minutes.

🍷 Wine & food pairing

Japanese green tea gyokuro or bancha. Also pairs well with warm junmai sake in winter.

Suggested wine: Té verde gyokuro japonés o sake junmai